Release The Spirit toys with rivals at trials
Maximus Pegasus, Olympia also in fine trim ahead of their races
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Jockey Oscar Chavez has his goggles off and his eyes on the prize as he guides Release The Spirit to a big-margin win at the barrier trials at Sungai Besi on March 3.
PHOTO: SELANGOR TURF CLUB
Brian Miller
The next time Release The Spirit goes to the races, be sure to pay him special attention.
To date, his trainer, Richard Lines, has been extremely patient with his galloper.
Indeed, in the time that he has had him in his stalls at Sungai Besi, the conditioner has raced him just a dozen times.
But Release The Spirit has been a good one to have in the yard.
From those 12 starts, the Nicconi four-year-old has won two races and has been placed on three other occasions.
From the way he won his barrier trial on March 3, he may well improve on that record.
On a track rated good, Release The Spirit was all speed and in complete control for jockey Oscar Chavez.
He led the field from the get-go and was never headed. While he seemed to toy with his rivals for the initial 600m, he began to exert himself over the concluding 400m.
From holding a length’s break at the top of the straight, Release The Spirit soon lengthened strides and the margin soon became three and then four lengths.
He eventually put seven lengths between himself and second-placed Superb Lucky (Liang Xiaochuan), clocking a smart time of 59.58sec.
Release The Spirit had his last start on Jan 3 when he finished seventh to Big Bad Mama in that Class 4 (A) race over 1,020m.
His showing at this latest trial tells us that he is much better than that. So, when that 13th start comes along, be sure to jump on the Lines’ bandwagon.
Another galloper who richly deserves a winning break is Maximus Pegasus for trainer Nick Selvan.
The three-year-old grey by Star Turn showed grit when taking the second trial. If he can bring that form to the races he might be able to break the duck in Race 3 on March 8.
It is a 1,275m sprint for Class 4 (B) runners and, with a handy weight of 54.5kg, he could make his presence felt in a big way.
At the trials, Maximus Pegasus rolled along in third spot but began to make inroads at the top of the straight.
Confidently ridden by Ruzaini Supien, he took the lead into the home stretch and showed spirit when he held off a strong challenge from Olympia (Shazmin Sudin) to win by three parts of a length, running the trip in 1min 0.27sec.
Maximus Pegasus is still a maiden but has come close in his five runs to date going back to Sept 14. With a record reading 2-3-3-2-2, a “1” will pop up soon.
Runner-up Olympia is also worthy of mention. An eight-year-old by Gingerbread Man, he gave a lot over the concluding stages, an encouraging sign for this weekend.
Olympia should be up to the task in Race 4, a Class 5 (A) sprint over 1,150m.
The final trial of the morning saw the Ricky Choi-trained Mega Captain stamp his authority over the final two furlongs to beat trainer Lawson Moy’s unnamed runner by an easy 2¼ lengths.
A three-year-old French-bred gelding by Ardad, Mega Captain (Ruzaini) ran out the trip in 1min 0.16sec.
Yet to face the starter in a race, Mega Captain has had two trials at Sungai Besi.
He finished a half-length second to Red Warrior at his first hit-out on Feb 10 but showed definite improvement when claiming the spoils on March 3.
He could be one to watch when he does make his Malaysian debut.
